Sir Tom Finney pupils set to move to Ribbleton Hall Drive in new £5m school

A Preston school is set to be moved across the city as part of a multi-million pound investment in new facilities.

Pupils at Sir Tom Finney Community School in Moor Park are due to be moved to a £5.7m state-of-the-art new building at Ribbleton Hall Drive.

Lancashire County Council has published its intention to demolish the current buildings at Ribbleton Hall and build a new school for the 130 pupils at Sir Tom Finney.

A report to County Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, states: “The proposed re-location will offer a wide range of educational and vocational opportunities to pupils at the Sir Tom Finney CHS, thus benefiting their transition to adulthood and independence.

“The newly remodelled main building will provide facilities for the Sir Tom Finney CHS including general teaching classrooms, design technology, food technology, science, library and ICT, sports hall, fitness suite, life skills, multi-sensory rooms, common rooms, a post 16 common room, dining room, large hall, hydrotherapy pool together with specialist changing facilities for disabled children, staffroom, administrative areas and areas for medical professionals. Externally, improved access will be provided for drop-off and pick up of pupils together with increased parking for cars and minibuses.”

The Ribbleton Hall campus is currently being used by pupils at fire-ravaged St Mary’s RC Technology College in Leyland, but they are due to be leaving the building by Christmas 2013.

This would allow the builders to move in and demolish the buildings in January 2014, with work on the new school expected to be finished by January 2015.

Council officers say Sir Tom Finney has reached its capacity at the Moor Park site.

The existing school buildings would be demolished, costing £184,000, and a new primary school could be built in its place.

The proposal will be discussed at the county council’s executive scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday 5 November from 2pm at County Hall.

Does your child attend Sir Tom Finney? What do you think about the proposal? Let us know in the comments below